ECO to committee: Bolster, don’t scrap, land use regs

Published: Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 10:15 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, June 13, 2013 at 10:15 p.m.

Henderson County’s land-use rules are critical to keeping it livable and prosperous, an environmental group told a regulation review advisory committee Thursday, and should be enhanced, not dismantled.

Rachel Hodge, executive director of the Environmental and Conservation Organization, urged the committee to recommend that commissioners strengthen the county’s land development code by incorporating more aspects of a comprehensive plan revised in 2008.

“Some people really are just not fans of zoning and aren’t fans of ordinance codes and I totally understand that,” said Hodge. “ECO understands that; we get that. But the point is, we can work together to find ways to keep the strong codes we already have and enhance them...”

Hodge urged the committee to recommend that commissioners create an open-space plan to protect farms and forests and to keep development compatible with the “rural and scenic character of the county,” two areas that received strong public support during the plan revision process.

Existing regulations such as stormwater rules and erosion controls “help keep our property values up,” Hodges said, and retain the high quality of life in Henderson County that draws industries such as Sierra Nevada and Legacy Paddlesports to create jobs here.

Large commercial and industrial developments should be kept within the plan’s Urban Services Area — the boundary served by water and sewer lines — and away from floodplains, wetlands and steep slopes, Hodge advised.

ECO was the final group invited to make a presentation before the committee, which commissioners created to examine how they can make county code more business friendly. The committee has also heard from the Chamber of Commerce, economic development officials and area homebuilders.

In six meetings since April, committee members haven’t heard much negative feedback about specific codes burdensome to businesses, other than a sign ordinance issue, but they have identified some regulatory “bottlenecks” that could potentially slow economic growth.

“Going back to the presentations, we’ve heard a lot of good things and it’s really good to hear from different angles about good things that Henderson County has done,” said Chairman Bert Lemkes. “But what we’ve also heard is sometimes — not always, but sometimes — the process gets lengthy for no specific reason.”

Last month, Lemkes asked county staff to develop a flow chart showing the timeline for rezonings and other county reviews that affect businesses trying to open up a new store or facility, in hopes of streamlining the process.

Based on that flow chart, the committee Thursday explored the possibility of speeding up the rezoning approval process. They considered that on the same day a business applies for a rezoning, a date be set by county staff for commissioners to hold a required public hearing.

That could shorten the process, said County Attorney Russ Burrell, but commissioners would have to approve allowing staff to set a public hearing that early. He added that businesses would also have to accept the risk that a delayed decision by the county’s planning board — which recommends rezonings to the commissioners — could throw off the accelerated timetable.

Committee member Renee Kumor wondered if condensing the process would create a situation where an adjacent landowner who was out of town wouldn’t find out about the rezoning’s public hearing until after it was over. No, said member Larry Baber, the shortened process would still give adequate public notice while speeding things up.

Planning board member Mike Cooper, who sits on the committee as a non-voting member, offered another suggestion for commissioners: lowering the county’s permit fees. He said fees for a $3 million commercial project like the Boyd Automotive facility he’s building on Spartanburg Highway are $21,350 here, compared to $7,825 in Burke County, $11,402 in Jackson or $10,010 in Polk for the same project.

“We have one of the highest (commercial) rate schedules for building permits in the western part of the state,” Cooper said.

<p>Henderson County's land-use rules are critical to keeping it livable and prosperous, an environmental group told a regulation review advisory committee Thursday, and should be enhanced, not dismantled.</p><p>Rachel Hodge, executive director of the Environmental and Conservation Organization, urged the committee to recommend that commissioners strengthen the county's land development code by incorporating more aspects of a comprehensive plan revised in 2008.</p><p>“Some people really are just not fans of zoning and aren't fans of ordinance codes and I totally understand that,” said Hodge. “ECO understands that; we get that. But the point is, we can work together to find ways to keep the strong codes we already have and enhance them...”</p><p>Hodge urged the committee to recommend that commissioners create an open-space plan to protect farms and forests and to keep development compatible with the “rural and scenic character of the county,” two areas that received strong public support during the plan revision process.</p><p>Existing regulations such as stormwater rules and erosion controls “help keep our property values up,” Hodges said, and retain the high quality of life in Henderson County that draws industries such as Sierra Nevada and Legacy Paddlesports to create jobs here. </p><p>Large commercial and industrial developments should be kept within the plan's Urban Services Area — the boundary served by water and sewer lines — and away from floodplains, wetlands and steep slopes, Hodge advised.</p><p>ECO was the final group invited to make a presentation before the committee, which commissioners created to examine how they can make county code more business friendly. The committee has also heard from the Chamber of Commerce, economic development officials and area homebuilders.</p><p>In six meetings since April, committee members haven't heard much negative feedback about specific codes burdensome to businesses, other than a sign ordinance issue, but they have identified some regulatory “bottlenecks” that could potentially slow economic growth.</p><p>“Going back to the presentations, we've heard a lot of good things and it's really good to hear from different angles about good things that Henderson County has done,” said Chairman Bert Lemkes. “But what we've also heard is sometimes — not always, but sometimes — the process gets lengthy for no specific reason.”</p><p>Last month, Lemkes asked county staff to develop a flow chart showing the timeline for rezonings and other county reviews that affect businesses trying to open up a new store or facility, in hopes of streamlining the process. </p><p>Based on that flow chart, the committee Thursday explored the possibility of speeding up the rezoning approval process. They considered that on the same day a business applies for a rezoning, a date be set by county staff for commissioners to hold a required public hearing. </p><p>That could shorten the process, said County Attorney Russ Burrell, but commissioners would have to approve allowing staff to set a public hearing that early. He added that businesses would also have to accept the risk that a delayed decision by the county's planning board — which recommends rezonings to the commissioners — could throw off the accelerated timetable.</p><p>Committee member Renee Kumor wondered if condensing the process would create a situation where an adjacent landowner who was out of town wouldn't find out about the rezoning's public hearing until after it was over. No, said member Larry Baber, the shortened process would still give adequate public notice while speeding things up.</p><p>Planning board member Mike Cooper, who sits on the committee as a non-voting member, offered another suggestion for commissioners: lowering the county's permit fees. He said fees for a $3 million commercial project like the Boyd Automotive facility he's building on Spartanburg Highway are $21,350 here, compared to $7,825 in Burke County, $11,402 in Jackson or $10,010 in Polk for the same project.</p><p>“We have one of the highest (commercial) rate schedules for building permits in the western part of the state,” Cooper said.</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com.</p>